Anthony Albanese promises fast-track approvals for datacentres to shore up AI investment

Anthony Albanese is set to announce the creation of a new office of AI within his department. Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP View image in fullscreen Anthony Albanese is set to announce the creation of a new office of AI within his department. Photograph: Steven Markham/AAP Anthony Albanese promises fast-track approvals for datacentres to shore up AI investment PM to declare Australia the first country worldwide to bring economic, social, security and environmental issues from AI under single office in major speech Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Anthony Albanese says the federal government will introduce faster approval processes for AI projects, including datacentres, across Australia, seeking to shore up investor certainty and maintain community confidence in the rapidly advancing technology . Announcing the creation of a new office of AI to be established within his department in a major speech on Wednesday, the prime minister will declare Australia is set to become the first country in the world to bring the economic, social, national security and environmental issues stemming from AI into a single, national framework. Excepts of the speech provided to Guardian Australia did not detail the government’s plans on copyright laws , as Labor comes under intense pressure from AI companies seeking exemptions or carve outs to train large language models. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email “Getting this right will enhance our appeal to international investors, by delivering greater clarity and speed for approvals, and a streamlined process for verifying compliance,” Albanese will tell an event . “It also imposes an important discipline on government.” The speech – set to be closely watched at home and abroad – comes as Labor seeks to better grapple with the societal freight train that is AI, including growing angst about massive datacentre infrastructure, energy systems and protection for intellectual property of Australian writers, musicians, film-makers and journalists. AI platforms are already preparing pitches for a significant expansion of the government’s own GovAI artificial intelligence service, established to drive secure and ethical adoption of new technologies in the Australian public service. The finance department launched a new multi-stage procurement process in recent days, asking for industry to develop new tools for service delivery and policymaking, including AI chat, already being used to boost efficiency within government departments. Talking up the social licence of AI and seeking to reassure workers about adequate guardrails to govern investment and development, Albanese will say AI requires a coordinated government approach, akin to the development of civil aviation in the 1920s and genetics in the 1990s. The new office of AI, to be created within the department of the prime minister and cabinet with immediate effect, is expected to work with the minister for industry and innovation, Tim